PenCom aims to provide pensions for all workers, seeks data for better inclusion

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) wants to make sure every working Nigerian can get a pension. This is especially important for workers in the informal sector and those in the growing digital economy.

Omolola Oloworaran, the Director-General of PenCom, shared this goal at the launch of the ninth edition of the Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) survey in Abuja on Wednesday.

She pointed out that pension participation in Nigeria rose from 7.8 percent of adults in 2023 to 9.1 percent in 2026.

While sharing these numbers, Oloworaran emphasized the need for better financial inclusion data. She wants to understand why many Nigerians do not have formal pension plans and how to create solutions to widen pension coverage.

But the numbers show that about nine out of ten Nigerian adults still do not have a formal pension plan. "Financial inclusion cannot end with access to an account. It must build resilience, security and well-being," she said.

Oloworaran highlighted how pension exclusion is a big issue for informal-sector workers. This includes traders, farmers, mechanics, drivers, tailors, hairdressers, and young people earning from digital platforms.

"They work. They earn. They carry this economy. But too many of them are growing older without building any security for the day they can no longer work," she said.

PenCom wants better pension data

The PenCom DG urged EFInA to improve the pension part of its financial inclusion research. She wants to know what could motivate Nigerians without pensions to start saving and keep contributing.

She mentioned that the research should look into what incentives might change saving habits. It should also consider how pension products can help workers with irregular incomes and how trust can be established in products whose benefits may take decades.

"These are the questions that move us from awareness to enrolment, from enrolment to regular contributions and from contributions to real retirement security," she said.

PenCom also suggested creating a pension inclusion map. This map would show how much pension exclusion happens across Nigeria based on geography, gender, age, occupation, and income.

The commission's Chief said combining EFInA's demand-side evidence with PenCom's regulatory and industry data could help pinpoint where pension exclusion is most severe and which actions could fill those gaps.

Commission suggests testing new ideas

The commission also called for evidence-based testing as Nigeria introduces the Personal Pension Plan.

It suggested trying out methods like digital onboarding, a certified pension-agent distribution system, transaction-based savings, marketing incentives, and behavioral changes.

Oloworaran stated that these initiatives should be tested with Nigerians and evaluated independently to find out which methods should be expanded.

"Because opening a pension account is not, by itself, pension inclusion. An account that is open but never funded will not provide dignity in retirement," she said.

The commission believes the true measure of pension inclusion should be whether Nigerians consistently save and build up enough retirement funds.

"The real value of this survey will not be the report we launch today. It will be what changes because of it," she stated.

PenCom believes that government policy, its regulatory role, industry infrastructure, and technology, along with EFInA's data, can help increase pension coverage for millions of Nigerians.

"At PenCom, our ambition is clear: a pension for every working Nigerian," she said.